BEA2026

While Joe Rogan and Marc Maron are often credited as trailblazers in podcasting, the groundwork for long-form, unfiltered audio conversations was laid earlier. In 2006, Howard Stern made the groundbreaking move from terrestrial radio to a new platform, Satellite, embracing a format that allowed for extended interviews and candid discussions on a wide range of topics. This transition not only transformed his own career but also reshaped the audio entertainment landscape—paving the way for the podcast era as we know it today. This panel will explore Stern’s pivotal role in redefining how audiences consume spoken-word content and why every podcaster owes part of their craft to his innovations.
Moderator: Lucas Cuny, San Bernardino Valley College
Panelists: Kevin Lyons, San Bernardino Valley College
Natalie McNair, San Bernardino Valley College

Join us for a fireside chat with Cameron Coats, Online Editor for Radio Ink magazine and radio personality Zach Sang. 

Zach Sang is the most formidable yet likable inquisitor of his generation. Having kick-started his career when he was just 14, launching a radio show from his New Jersey bedroom, Sang went on to host Zach Sang and the Student Body on GOOM Radio, eventually becoming executive producer and music director of Zang Radio, one of the largest online teen radio stations at that time. Post-GOOM he partnered with Westwood One, spending 10 years on terrestrial radio hosting and producing the Zach Sang Show, transmitting to 90 terrestrial stations and millions of listeners (not to mention racking up millions of views online). Sang’s interviewed some of the biggest names in pop culture including Billie Eilish, Sam Smith, Blackpink, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, BTS, Zendaya, and countless other top tier names. His conversations are personally probing and creatively illuminating, but they’re also safe harbor, free from a clickbait gotcha agenda, offering instead, easy rapport and an open ear. 

For his next act Sang is continuing his partnership with Amazon Music across the board — which started in 2021 — while taking his show back to radio. Additionally the 30-year-old’s got his eyes on increasingly ambitious, broader scope projects. His production company Sang a Song is humming, developing a slate of TBA multi-channel formats. 

In a world where Content Is King, this multi-hyphenate is always iterating, but his ethos remains unwavering: Zach Sang leads with curiosity, empathy, and humor. He’s sharing too, but primarily he’s listening so that others can be heard.

Tim McCarthy, president of the Broadcasters Foundation of America, will briefly kick off the session share the work of the foundation. The mission of the Broadcasters Foundation of America is to improve the quality of life of men and women in the radio and television broadcast profession who find themselves in acute financial need due to a critical illness, severe accident, or other serious misfortune.